Johnson backs same-sex marriage

South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, one of the last Democratic senators to oppose same-sex marriage, changed his position on Monday.

“After lengthy consideration, my views have evolved sufficiently to support marriage equality legislation,” Johnson (D-S.D.) said in a statement. “This position doesn’t require any religious denomination to alter any of its tenets; it simply forbids government from discrimination regarding who can marry whom.”

Johnson is the latest lawmaker to reverse positions on the issue: last week saw senators including Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) do the same. Johnson announced last month that he was not seeking reelection in 2014.